Offense Preview:
Zach Koenig returns at quarterback. He was named honorable mention, All-Berks County last year at quarterback. Last year he passed around 1,700 yards and threw for 11 touchdowns.
“He’s a excellent leader on the field and has a very good command of the offense,” said head football coach James Martinez.
Zach is primarily a pocket passer and has a good knowledge of the game. Last year they didn’t run him because of depth at the quarterback position. This year look for him to run more as he added 20 to 25-pounds.
One of their leaders returning at running back is Tyler Emge. Tyler has great feet and good field vision. He will be the feature back this fall for Fleetwood.
There are two other guys to keep an eye on this year. They are Shaq Cobb and Thaddeus Cornick. Shaq had about 500 yards rushing last year. Thaddeus had about 300 yards rushing last year.
“We have good experience back at the running back position. So look for Shaq and Thaddeus to get some carries this year.”
On the offensive line Fleetwood has three returning players, two sophomores and one junior. Albano Ferreira is a returning junior on the line at offensive guard.
“Albano is a big kid at 6-foot-4, 260-pounds. He’s a guy that once he starts to learn leverage, he’s going to develop into a really good offensive lineman.”
The two returning sophomores are Mason Concordia at tackle and Cress Fisher at guard.
“Mason is 255-pounds and is a solid physical lineman. Cress is about 295-pounds and he’s a big physical kid.”
The other two positions on the line are center and tackle. Jake Feick will play at the center position this year. They do return their starting center from last year, but he’s going to play mainly defense this year. His name is Cody McMullen. But at times you may see him rotate in the offensive line this year.
“He took a year off from football, but was a starter for these guys when he was younger.”
There’s a battle going on at the other tackle spot between three guys. They are Daymond Zweizig, Ty Galtere and Ethan Miller.
“On the line we are big, but young. One thing nice is that we do not have one senior on the line. I won’t say we’re green on the line. It’s been nice that we have three underclassman that have started already.”
At wide receiver, Fleetwood returns a very dynamic receiver, Michael Allen. Last year he led the team with 39 catches.
“He has great hands and exceptional body control. He really understands what we’re doing out there. He runs crisp clean routes and is becoming one of our leaders.”
Samson Lerch is our returning safety and will see action at receiver this year.
Now, on the other side I have a guy very similar to Michael and he’s Tyler Strunk.
“Tyler has great hands and is a very elusive player. He runs good routes. I’m hoping he burst on the scene as well like Michael.”
A couple of other guys to watch at receiver this fall are Shaq Cobb, Dustin Carbaugh and Jake Good. If Shaq isn’t playing running back, then he’s going to play some receiver. Dustin Carbaugh is the other guy along with Jake Good that could see some action.
“On offense we should be able to move the football as long as we’re effective on first downs. That’s a key for us on offense. If we can get in a rhythm and stay in rhythm we’re pretty good.”
Defense Preview:
On the defensive line, Fleetwood has two players returning. Cody McMullen plays nose guard and Albano Ferreira at tackle.
“Cody is about 270-pounds and he plays with an attitude. He’s one of those guys that is hard to block. Albano has a great frame and is working hard to get better all the time. He only has a couple of years of football experience.”
There will be a battle at the other position. It’s probably going to be one of those three guys that are battling for the offensive tackle. They are Daymond Zweizig, Ty Galtere and Ethan Miller. Whoever’s not the offensive tackle is probably going to battle for the defensive tackle spot.
The Tigers bring a lot of experience back at the linebacker position. Tyler Emge is going to play inside linebacker this year. That’s a new position for him this year.
The other three are in the same position as before. The other inside linebacker is Shaq Cobb. At outside linebacker we have Tyler Strunk and Jake Good.
“Tyler and Shaq are both 6-foot-1 and can run at the inside spot. Strunk and Good are both big, physical outside backs and do well on the edge.”
In the secondary Fleetwood has three players returning with experience from last year. Right now its Michael Allen and Thaddeus Cornick at corner. The other guy back is Sampson Lerch who is actually moving from free safety to strong safety.
“Michael and Thaddeus does a excellent job in the secondary. They can defend that edge and break to the football. Sampson has grown into a strong safety, but still has the speed to play free safety. But since we’re in a predominately running league, being at strong safety is beneficial.”
We have a battle going on at free safety in between Dale Loch, Austin Hottenstein, Luke Emge and JD Pellock.
“I think we’re going to be fast on defense and we will be very aggressive. We have experience coming back.”
Special Teams Preview:
Tyler Emge and Michael Allen are our kick and punt returners.
Matt Hook is our punter and kicker. He was the punter and kicker last year. Between his sophomore and junior year he had 15 field goals in a row. He had nine last year and seven his sophomore year.
“He’s a quality kicker and has been working on his leg strength. He has good leg strength, but his goal this year is to kick it in the end zone every time.”
Tyler Emge is the long snapper.
Head Coach: James Martinez
2013 Record: 6-5
Key Starters Lost: Morgan Shigo, Zared Reichert, Cody Wolf, Heath Skimski, Max Fretz, Zach Klapchar, Nate Webb
Offensive Starters Returning: (6)
Sr. Tyler Emge – RB,
Sr. Zach Koenig – QB,
Sr. Michael Allen – WR,
Jr. Albano Ferreira – OL,
So. Cress Fisher – OL,
So. Mason Concordia – OL
Defensive Starters Returning: (9)
Sr. Cody McMullen – DL,
Jr. Albano Ferreira – DL,
Sr. Jake Good – OLB,
Sr. Tyler Emge – ILB,
Sr. Shaq Cobb – ILB,
Jr. Tyler Strunk – OLB,
Sr. Michael Allen – CB,
Sr. Thaddeus Cornick – CB,
Jr. Sampson Lerch – SS
Key Newcomers: Jr. Jake Feick – OL, So. Daymond Zweizig – OL, Sr. Dustin Carbaugh – LB/WR, So. Dale Loch – DB/WR, Fr. Luke Emge – DB/QB, So. Justin Hummel – WR/DB, So. JD Pellock – DB
D1 (FBS & FCS) Prospects: Tyler Emge, Albano Ferreira, Cress Fisher
Key Stats: Last season the Tigers had their first winning season in football in school history.
2014 Coaches Outlook: With numerous players coming back, it is our job as coaches to put people in the right places. We must stay healthy. We do not get a lot of players out for football so for us to compete at the next level we must stay healthy throughout the season.
We have to become football smart, teams that perform well in our league and district are also very good, so we have to improve on the knowledge of our program and study our opponents to be competitive.
